FFM Follow Up: City Council votes to publicly release previously withheld analysis of financial risks-- Despite a memo from the city’s bond counsel warning of “substantial risks”, the Gaylord City Council has voted to guarantee to pay up to 16.5 percent of the debt service on $77 million of revenue bonds should the proposed RS Fiber telecom network fail to pay for itself. The bond risk analysis …
Broadband
Gaylord Officials Keep Report Secret on Risk to Taxpayers with $70 Million Telecom Network
--Officials in the city of Gaylord have informed the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) they will not make public a key analysis of the potential financial risks posed by a plan to invest $70 million in bonding for the RS Fiber telecom network. Proponents of the municipal broadband project expect RS Fiber to start paying for itself after three or four years. If not, …
$70 Million Countywide Government Telecom Network on Hold
Construction of the proposed taxpayer-backed telecom network known as RS Fiber has been quietly pushed back until at least next spring. Yet you’d never know this if you visited their website. According to the RS Fiber website, groundbreaking was to occur last month. The reason for the unexpected and unusual delay cited by supporters of the municipal broadband proposal involves municipal bond …
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